Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 109 - 108: The More Debt, the Less Worry

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: The More Debt, the Less Worry

The leaves rustle, singing for the wind.

The man in the yard stands tall and straight, with a trace of nervousness visible amidst his usually cool and aloof brow. His eyes are very dark, his lips slightly pursed.

Su Yuncheng is feeling somewhat nervous at the moment.

He knows that giving her a bicycle like this is a bit rash. He thought she would flatly refuse, thought she would perceive his special feelings for her, thought she might find his age too great... He had made countless assumptions and based on these, he had come up with all sorts of responses.

Su Yuncheng feels his body temperature climbing, his heart beating at an intensity and rate he’s never experienced before.

After Lin Nianhe’s initial shock, endless surprise follows.

She smiles, a very radiant smile.

"Thank you, Brother Yuncheng, I was just thinking about buying a women’s bicycle later on," Lin Nianhe says with a shy smile, "But I didn’t bring much money with me to town. How much did it all cost? I’ll go back and give it to you."

Her voice carries the unique tenderness of a young girl, her tone unable to hide her joy, yet it isn’t the shyness or nervousness he anticipated. Not even a hint of discomfort.

Su Yuncheng: "..."

The little girl didn’t refuse, didn’t overthink, she just wanted to give him the money like before.

He had tossed and turned for many days, unable to say a single word he had planned.

Su Yuncheng forces a bitter smile.

Indeed, she’s still so young, not yet savvy to these things.

Of course, he wouldn’t know that after he had inquired about Lin Nianhe’s age, she had already ruled out the possibility that he was fond of the original her.

And for her, the prolonged life-and-death hardships of the post-apocalyptic world had been enough to eradicate any thought of romance. Even if he fit her aesthetic taste, beyond finding him eye-pleasing and a good dinner companion, she couldn’t imagine anything else.

Lin Nianhe eagerly looks at the keys in his hand, as if urging: Just tell me how much it is.

Su Yuncheng snaps back to reality, swallowing the dryness in his throat, and replies: "One hundred and eighty."

"Oh," Lin Nianhe nods, "I’m glad my dad gave me some pocket money... and ticket coupons. How much is it all together?"

Su Yuncheng sighs inwardly: "The ticket coupons were sent by my dad. Our family doesn’t need a bicycle, and I already have one, so I just used them to buy this for you. I didn’t go through the trouble of getting anything else."

"Is that so."

Lin Nianhe considers with downcast eyes.

She hasn’t stayed in Beijing too long, but she knows that Uncle Su and Aunt Su both have their own bicycles, and Uncle Su even has an official-use bike.

Thinking this way, Su Yuncheng’s explanation seems quite reasonable.

She hesitates for a moment, then reaches out to take the key from his palm.

Her fingertip sweeps across his palm, the soft touch almost making Su Yuncheng unable to resist telling her everything on his mind.

He quickly withdraws his hand, clenches it into a fist against his lower lip, and clears his throat lightly: "You try it out, I’ll adjust it for you if there’s anything that doesn’t fit."

"Sure," Lin Nianhe replies with a smile, nodding, "Then I won’t be polite. I’ll bring you the money when I have time."

"No rush," Su Yuncheng says, "It’s not safe for you to carry so much money around. I’ll come to collect it after I finish my work."

Lin Nianhe doesn’t object, simply smiles, and then goes to the bicycle, unlocks, and mounts it.

It turns out a 26-inch beast isn’t that much easier to ride after all; the bike is still heavy. But at least she no longer has to tiptoe.

Watching Lin Nianhe’s harrowing ride, Su Yuncheng begins to doubt whether he’s made another mistake.

Lin Nianhe rides around the yard a few times before stopping in front of Su Yuncheng, smiling, "It’s pretty good, no need to adjust it."

"That’s good."

Su Yuncheng places the cloth bag in the bicycle basket, and pulls out a remittance slip for her: "Here, keep this safe."

Lin Nianhe takes it and sees the amount remitted: fifty yuan.

It must be the living expenses sent by Aunt Lin.

She nods and secures the remittance slip: "Thank you, Brother Yuncheng."

"No big deal." Su Yuncheng nodded towards the courtyard door, "Let’s go, I have a meeting this afternoon."

"Okay, sure."

Lin Nianhe was the first to ride her bike out of the gate, Su Yuncheng followed, locking the door behind him, then rode back with her.

It was only now that Lin Nianhe noticed that Su Yuncheng’s place was just two streets away from the police station. The neighborhood must be mostly Public Security comrades.

No wonder it’s so quiet.

She thought to herself.

Su Yuncheng escorted her back to the entrance of the State-Owned Restaurant before saying goodbye. Before leaving, he reminded her, "Sister-in-law Zhou is right, if you need anything just have Zhou Xu relay the message to me."

"Okay." Lin Nianhe waved at him, "Brother Yuncheng, take care."

A slight smile appeared on the corner of Su Yuncheng’s mouth, he nodded: "Okay."

It wasn’t until Su Yuncheng had gone that Wang Xixi approached Lin Nianhe, eyeing the brand-new bicycle with curiosity, "It looks so nice! But seems much smaller, doesn’t it?"

"Yeah, it’s a 26-inch." Lin Nianhe checked her pockets, "Daxi, would you accompany me to the post office?"

"Sure."

Lin Nianhe’s visit to the post office wasn’t just to withdraw money, her main purpose was to make a phone call.

She owed Su Yuncheng more and more favors, reaching a point where she was in "too much debt to worry." But it wouldn’t be right to just take the Su family’s bike voucher for nothing. As she couldn’t deal with it on her own, so...

"Girl! Missing your dad, aren’t you?"

Comrade Old Lin was as cheerful as ever.

Lin Nianhe’s lips curved into a light smile, softening her expression significantly, "Dad, how are you and mom? Are you both well?"

"All good, all good," Mr. Lin replied with a laugh, "We’re both fine. Your brother even came home to stay for a couple of days; everything’s good at home. Just take care of yourself out there. By the way, how’s that school you mentioned coming along?"

"It’s under construction. Brother Yuncheng got a construction team to help, it should be finished in another seven or eight days... Oh, and dad, I’m going to give a lecture at the literacy campaign class tonight."

"Wow, my daughter’s impressive! Look at that, you’re already helping the villagers with literacy... Girl, let me tell you, you have to start from practical issues when teaching literacy. Make sure what you teach is beneficial to the villagers’ lives..."

Comrade Old Lin was very earnest in guiding Lin Nianhe on the proper approach to literacy campaigns. She listened seriously, occasionally asking questions that left Comrade Old Lin especially satisfied.

"Alright dad, I’ve got it all down. I need to get back to the brigade soon. Oh, and don’t forget to thank Uncle Su for me. He gave Brother Yuncheng a bike voucher, and Brother Yuncheng bought me a bicycle with it."

"Ah?"

Mr. Lin was momentarily stunned; there hadn’t been any bike vouchers at their place recently.

However, he soon figured out the "truth"—if it wasn’t from the unit, then it must be from a relative of the Su family.

Mr. Lin laughed it off, unconcerned: "Alright, if he bought it for you, then just accept it graciously. Your brother was also thinking about trading in a bike voucher for you the other day. No worries, girl, ride with peace of mind."

"Got it, I’ve given the money to Yuncheng, but don’t forget to thank them for the voucher."

"My daughter is so polite, sure, I’ll thank them right away! By the way, girl, do you still have enough money?"

"I’m fine. I just got the money order from mom."

"That’s good. Call me if you run out."

"Sure."

Three minutes later, Mr. Su’s office door was kicked open once again.

"Old Su! Hehe called me! Look at how filial my daughter is!"

Mr. Su rolled his eyes at him, not wanting to be bothered.

"My daughter is so capable, she started helping with literacy campaigns for the villagers!"

"..."

"Hey, Old Su, thanks for your family’s bike voucher. Hehe told me about it, Yuncheng used the voucher for her. Thanks a lot. How about coming over for dinner tonight with your sister-in-law?"

Mr. Su was taken aback, puzzled, his mind went blank.

When had he given that damn kid a bike voucher?